[8.18] PSR B1046-58 and its PWN as seen with Chandra

We present the preliminary results from a 36 ks ACIS-S
Chandra observation of the Vela-like pulsar B1046--58.
Previous ASCA and XMM-Newton observations detected X-ray
emission from the pulsar and hinted at the presence of a
pulsar wind nebula (PWN) surrounding it. The Chandra
observation shows a point source at the radio coordinates of
the pulsar and reveals an elongated,
~6''\times10'' nebula surrounding it which we
identify as a PWN. The emission from the pulsar and its PWN
is faint, with a combined power-law luminosity of
~1\times1032 ergs s-1 in the 0.5-10.0 keV
band (assuming a distance of 3 kpc). The emission from the
pulsar dominates below ~2 keV and contributes
~40% of the total counts from the system, while the
emission from the PWN dominates above ~2 keV. Imaging
analysis reveals a complex and unusual morphology to the
PWN, with the pulsar being immediately surrounded by
bow-shock-like emission, while clumped emission is seen
prominently "behind" the bow but also possibly "ahead" of
the bow. This PWN structure discovered with Chandra provides
an additional testing site for our understanding of PWN
confinement, morphology and emission characteristics.